1461 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

The RBCM also had really, really well organized late night events for Halloween, Valentine’s, etc.

You essentially had free roam of the museum, with different themed rooms, activities, and plenty of food and beverage stations. Some of my best memories were made there.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Canadian Museums Association is calling for legislation, money and a cohesive national strategy to support Indigenous-led reconciliation in the museum sector.

 

The association detailed the work needed in a report released Tuesday that includes 10 recommendations to help spur Indigenous self-determination at every level of a museum’s operations.

 

"Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Museums" urges legislation to support the repatriation of Indigenous belongings and remains of ancestors, and dedicated funding for the repatriation process. It was funded by the Heritage Department and responds to a call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to review museum policies.

 

Pointing to her sector's deep legacy of colonization, association president Heather George said our understanding of history is richer when Indigenous Peoples have authority over how they are represented.

 

 

 

https://www.stalbert...-sector-5878175

[max.bravo]

Can we just skip to the part where there's one official 'Indigenous' museum and a separate segregated 'Colonizer' museum?

 

I know which one I'd rather go to.

[dasmo]

IDK. My favourite section was the First Nations part. True decolonization would mean less segregation. Personally I would rather adapt more First Nations traditions than monarchist ones. But in typical fashion that’s not what these globalist mandates do. They don’t bring us together. They divide us. If it was me I would have negotiated the statement of ownership moving to the respective nations where artifacts were found or stolen from and negotiated joint management of the in order to keep them all exhibited together. They are our family and our heritage too. If some items were to be given back so be it but I bet most would stay.
UNDRIP is more UN driven us vs them since it’s about carving away indigenous culture and preventing us from melting together.

[lanforod]

This is from the perspective of a non-First Nations white man:
The goal of a (history) museum is conservation and education of history, no? Don't First Nations use different methods to meet similar goals, such as through oral story telling?

 

I really liked how showing what Victoria/Vancouver was like post colony settlement was done I.E. the now removed old town history part of RBCM - that helped tell a story visually far better than many museums do it. This should be recreated, and improved where possible.

 

I would love a similar approach for First Nations.  Have a reconstruction of a Lekwungen (not sure how to put this in correct characters) or Haida village, with First Nations curators regularly using oral story telling, music etc. to share. If feasible, perhaps have participation from attendees. Have a sacred fire, allow attendees to write thoughts for burning. etc. I believe this would have better impact than a room full of totems and masks, which is how I typically remember the current displays. They are nice, but they don't really give me a true feel for how these people lived, loved and laughed 500, 1000 years ago.

A point about negative history too, and this is going to be extremely unpopular with the 'woke folk': if there is a desire to use the RBCM to show negative history, such as the residential school attrocity, there should not be any whitewashing or ignoring of negative history of First Nations either. 

Edited by lanforod, 28 September 2022 - 07:47 AM.

[dasmo]

I also loved the old town exhibit.
From my limited research, If we were to adapt First Nations culture then there is no frame for reconciliation. We would be instead going through a condolence ritual. Where we face our past, perform some sort of condolence ritual and then move on. The ritual could be an apology from the Monarchy with a sizeable financial gift to all the people of Canada. Like leaving it. And…. then not dwell on it anymore. Or as they do if they are entering the long house where different families and nations come together, they leave their **** at the door. Residential schools happened, document it, but I agree don’t make that the focus. It does nothing to bring us together. Rather focus on education on what their life was like and culture was and is. There was also collaboration and friendship not only fighting and injustice. It’s a shared past that shouldn’t be segregated.

[spanky123]

 

The Canadian Museums Association is calling for legislation, money and a cohesive national strategy to support Indigenous-led reconciliation in the museum sector

 

 

If it were up to me, I would be happy to load everything into a containers and ship it back to wherever each FN group wanted. I don't see that as being a herculean or expensive effort. 

[spanky123]

This is from the perspective of a non-First Nations white man:
The goal of a (history) museum is conservation and education of history, no? Don't First Nations use different methods to meet similar goals, such as through oral story telling?

 

In my opinion it is hard to mix documented history with story telling as they often conflict.

[lanforod]

Not really, when it comes to First Nations as there isn't really any documented history before colonlization. 

[dasmo]

There isn’t documentation in the form of writing but If you understand the oral tradition you can see it’s validity. Stories are stories wether written or remembered. If you look at history books from the 40s they are different than now so the written word doesn’t protect truth. Also there was documentation through symbols and physical items like the wampum belt. Out east the Europeans documented the Constitution of the confederacy of the Iroquois. The one they based the US constitution on. Once they broke ground on writing it down from their interpretation over the decades it’s been better clarified because it was keep alive via the oral tradition.

[todd]

 

Former RBCM curator still believes sandstone pillar could be an Indigenous artifact

 

Grant Keddie believes the stone may be an Indigenous ceremonial stone found by a local artist who began to carve a face on it

 

https://www.timescol...rtifact-5867648

 

Might be time to test the museum. Maybe like a Pepsi challenge. Real and fake artefacts

[spanky123]

There isn’t documentation in the form of writing but If you understand the oral tradition you can see it’s validity. Stories are stories wether written or remembered. If you look at history books from the 40s they are different than now so the written word doesn’t protect truth. Also there was documentation through symbols and physical items like the wampum belt. Out east the Europeans documented the Constitution of the confederacy of the Iroquois. The one they based the US constitution on. Once they broke ground on writing it down from their interpretation over the decades it’s been better clarified because it was keep alive via the oral tradition.

 

History books from the 40's accurately represent the beliefs and thoughts at the time by those who wrote them. Granted some have been 're-imagined' to conform to accepted current norms, but at least there is more than one history book which you can compare to and draw your own conclusions.  

 

I think that the challenge relying solely on an oral history is that you wind up with one version of events presented by the group that ultimately wound up in power. 

[aastra]

 

My favourite section was the First Nations part. True decolonization would mean less segregation.

 

It was excellent and the overall atmosphere would have inspired even the most hardcore jerk to do some quiet and respectful reflection (VV forumers included). And it wasn't just rooms full of totems and masks. There was also the cave, the longhouse, the pit house, and the fishing weir scene (which came and went and then came and went again, didn't it?). That fishing weir scene always impressed me, the way it showed what was happening under the water.

But even the "rooms full of totems and masks" were done very well. The presentation where each mask was spotlighted in the dark while you listened to the narrators was very impactful, especially considering how seemingly simple/static it might have appeared to be at first glance.

 

[dasmo]

History books from the 40's accurately represent the beliefs and thoughts at the time by those who wrote them. Granted some have been 're-imagined' to conform to accepted current norms, but at least there is more than one history book which you can compare to and draw your own conclusions.  

 

I think that the challenge relying solely on an oral history is that you wind up with one version of events presented by the group that ultimately wound up in power. 

That's the same regardless of if it's written or not. Remember.... History is written by the victors... This is why my history of Canada textbook from the 40's describes them as savages. Savages don't have a constitution.... 

If you read about it you understand that there are benefits with the oral tradition. In the case of the great law of peace it was that it was kept alive in the minds of the people and actually was protected from manipulation and corruption because of that. There wasn't a centralized authority since many minds held the information and were authorities on it. I can remember songs in detail through the power of the ritual of singing them. the subconscious is a powerful tool. 

[Victoria Watcher]

https://www.timescol...plunged-5987231

 

 

 

The Royal B.C. Museum’s request for proposals for a food and beverage operator is ­providing a sneak peek into how a pandemic-related ­tourism downturn combined with a controversial decision to close its third floor hurt attendance at one of the city’s most critical tourist attractions.

 

Average daily visitor numbers plummeted more than 50 per cent from 1,300 in the 2019-2020 fiscal year to 600 the following year, according to the document. The average for 2020-2021 was 629 visitors a day.

 

While it’s since been rising, attendance remains far below pre-pandemic numbers.

 

Between Jan. 1 of this year and Oct. 1, the Belleville Street museum has seen an average of 813 visitors per day.

 

The museum’s request for proposals comes with a ­caution: “Interested parties should be aware that the future of the RBCM is uncertain and the ­contract terms reflect this.”

 

Posted Thursday, the opportunity to bid closes Nov. 17, with the contract set to start in ­January.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 October 2022 - 06:02 AM.

[Mike K.]

Dismantling that third floor was a blunder of truly epic proportions.

[Victoria Watcher]

The BC government wrecked our musuem and they have no plans for how to fix it.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 October 2022 - 06:10 AM.

[Nparker]

The museum is a symbol for an NDP run province.

[dasmo]

The BC government wrecked our province and they have no plans for how to fix it.

[E2V]

Dismantling that third floor was a blunder of truly epic proportions.

Common sense be damned when there’s virtue to be signaled.